US: Mexico Playa del Carmen threat unrelated to ferries

By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press
| on March 8, 2018

Photo: Gabriel Alcocer, AP

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Tourists and passengers disembark from a ferry on to the wharf on Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Friday, March 2, 2018. Undetonated explosives were found on another ferry that runs between the Caribbean resorts ofTourists and passengers disembark from a ferry on to the wharf on Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Friday, March 2, 2018. Undetonated explosives were found on another ferry that runs between the Caribbean resorts of Playa del Carmen and the island of Cozumel, authorities said, less than two weeks after a blast shook another ferry plying the same route.

Photo: DEA / ARCHIVIO J. LANGE/De Agostini/Getty Images

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Veracruz state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest city: Veracruz, Coatzacoalcos and Córdoba

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP/Getty Images

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Tamaulipas state: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Largest cities: Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo

Do not travel due to crime. Violent crimes such as murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, extortion and sexual

Tamaulipas state: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Largest cities: Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo

Do not travel due to crime. Violent crimes such as murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, extortion and sexual assault are common.

Photo: HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images

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Colima state: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Largest cities: Manzanillo and Tecomán

Violent crime and gang activity widespread.

Photo: Nino Hilal/Flickr Vision

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Guanajuato state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: León, Irapuato and Celava

Exercise increased caution due to crime

Photo: FRANCISCO ROBLES/AFP/Getty Images

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Guerrero state: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Largest cities: Acapulco, Chilpancingo, Iguala

Do not travel due to crime.

Photo: ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP/Getty Images

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Michoacán state: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Largest cities: Morelia, Uruapan, Lázaro Cárdenas

Do not travel due to crime.

Photo: RASHIDE FRIAS/AFP/Getty Images

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Sinaloa state: Level 4: Do Not Travel

Largest cities: Culiacán, Mazatlán and Guasave

Do not travel due to crime. Violent crime is widespread.

Photo: HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP/Getty Images

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Chihuahua state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua City and Delicias

Violent crime and gang activity are widespread.

Photo: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

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Durango state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Durango, Gómez Palacio and Ciudad Lerdo

Violent crime and gang activity along the highways are common.

Photo: ALEJANDRO ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images

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Coahuila state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Saltillo, Ciudad Acuña and Monclova

Violent is wiedspread.

Photo: ULISES RUIZ/AFP/Getty Images

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Jalisco state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Guadalajara, Zapopan and Puerto Vallarta

Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Jalisco state.

Photo: /AFP/Getty Images

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Estado de Mexico state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Ecatepec de Morelos, Nezahualcóyotl and Toluca

Violent crime is common in parts of Estado de Mexico.

Photo: Brian Vander Brug/LA Times Via Getty Images

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Nayarit state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Tepic and Ixtlán del Rio

Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Nayarit state.

Photo: JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP/Getty Images

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Nuevo Leon state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Monterrey, Guadalupe, Apodaca

Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Nuevo Leon state.

Photo: PEDRO PARDO/AFP/Getty Images

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Sonora state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Hermosillo, Ciudad Obregón and Nogales

Reconsider travel due to crime. Sonora is a key location utilized by the international drug trade and human

Sonora state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Hermosillo, Ciudad Obregón and Nogales

Reconsider travel due to crime. Sonora is a key location utilized by the international drug trade and human trafficking networks.

Photo: HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images

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Zacatecas state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Guadalupe and Sombrerete

Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Zacatecas state.

Photo: AGF/UIG Via Getty Images

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Morelos state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: Cuernavaca, Jiutepec and Cuautla

Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Morelos state.

Photo: John Gress/Corbis Via Getty Images

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Mexico City: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP/Getty Images

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Baja California state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: La Paz, San Jose del Cabo, Ciudad Constitución

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP/Getty Images

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Aguascalientes state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images

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Baja California Sur state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: AGF/UIG Via Getty Images

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San Luis Potosi state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: San Luis Potosí, Soledad de Graciano Sánchez and Ciudad Valles

Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of San Luis

San Luis Potosi state: Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Largest cities: San Luis Potosí, Soledad de Graciano Sánchez and Ciudad Valles

Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of San Luis Potosi state.

Photo: AGF/UIG Via Getty Images

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Campeche state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest city: Campeche

Police presence and emergency response are extremely limited outside of the state capital.

Photo: MyLoupe/UIG Via Getty Images

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Yucatan state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: Mérida and Valladolid

Exercise increased caution due to crime. Police presence and emergency response are extremely limited outside of the

Yucatan state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: Mérida and Valladolid

Exercise increased caution due to crime. Police presence and emergency response are extremely limited outside of the state capital.

Photo: MARIO VAZQUEZ/AFP/Getty Images

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Oaxaca state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: Oaxaca, San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, Salina Cruz

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: MIGUEL TOVAR/AFP/Getty Images

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Chiapas state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Tapachula and San Cristóbal de las Casas

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: Marka/UIG Via Getty Images

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Hidalgo state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: Pachuca, Tulancingo and Tizayuca

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: AFP Contributor/AFP/Getty Images

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Puebla state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: Puebla, Tehuacán and Cholula de Rivadavia

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: DEA / ARCHIVIO J. LANGE/De Agostini/Getty Images

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Querétaro state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest city: Querétaro City

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: DEA / C. SAPPA/De Agostini/Getty Images

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Quintana Roo state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: Cancún, Chetumal and Cozumel

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

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Tabasco state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: Villahermosa, Cárdenas and Comalcalco

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

Photo: PEDRO PARDO/AFP/Getty Images

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Tlaxcala state: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Largest cities: Villa Vicente Guerrero, Huamantla and Chiautempan

Exercise increased caution due to crime.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said Thursday that a security alert about the Caribbean resort of Playa del Carmen was not related to an explosion on a ferry that injured at least two dozen people.

The embassy did not specify what kind of security threat it had been informed of in the resort, which is near Cancun, Cozumel and Tulum.

But it did say that "we do not have information relating the ferry explosion to the security threat in Playa del Carmen."

That threatened to complicate matters for one of Mexico's key tourism sites, since the ferry threats had at least already been known and, according to Mexican officials, were related to "business issues" with the ferry company.

Now it appears a different threat also exists. The area has also been hit, albeit infrequently, by drug violence, and the violent Jalisco cartel has been seen moving into the area.

But it was not clear if that was in any way related to the security alert issued Wednesday by the Embassy.

The alert included an indefinite ban on travel to Playa del Carmen by U.S. government employees. It said the U.S. consular agency there "will be closed until further notice."

Mexican officials said the city is safe, despite the U.S. alert.

"All tourism and economic activity in Playa del Carmen continues in a normal manner," the government of Quintana Roo state said in a statement, noting that hotel occupancy at the resort was 80 percent.

It said President Enrique Pena Nieto attended an ocean conservation conference in Playa del Carmen on Thursday.

"We do not know why the U.S. government decided to emit this alert," the state government said.

A Feb. 21 explosion on a ferry that runs between Playa del Carmen and Cozumel injured 19 Mexicans and at least five U.S. citizens.

After that, the U.S. Embassy barred employees from taking the ferries to Cozumel, one of the world's busiest cruise ship ports of call.

And last week, undetonated explosive devices were found on another boat owned by the same ferry company.

State prosecutors say the ferry incidents are under investigation. Local media say officials are examining several possible motives, including the possibility the bombing may have been related to an insurance policy.

The ferry company has not responded to requests for comment. But on March 4, the company issued a statement saying that "referring to this as an attack from inside the company is a very low, morally unfounded act, which we categorically deny."

While the Caribbean coast — especially Cancun and the area south known as the "Riviera Maya" — has been largely spared the drug violence affecting other areas, there have been killings.

Last week four gunmen burst into a hospital in Cancun and shot to death a drug gang suspect and his wife.

In January 2017, gunmen attacked the state prosecutors' office in Cancun, killing four people. A day before that, a shooting at a music festival in Playa del Carmen left three foreigners and two Mexicans dead.